Those Three Little Words
by CeliaEquus
Summary: Sequel to "That One Little Word". Hermione is starting as Sirius' apprentice, and he's determined to win her back. But even with Voldemort's death, can there still be such a thing as house unity? A prank war will decide.
1. Sirius' Plan

"Sirius' Plan"

She was cold towards him. Not very cold, but sure as heck nowhere near warm. People noticed it, even if they were too polite—for the most part—to say anything. What had happened since she had first told him that she loved him?

Oh yeah. He had kissed her, rejected her, mistakenly slept with her, forced her out of her rooms, and then was too late with his declaration of love.

Not that he had ever said the word 'love'. It was implied, but never said. Damn. That's what probably went wrong.

Still, Sirius had a plan to win back Hermione. If she had loved him once, surely she loved him still? That would make everything so much easier!

Sirius Black was not a man to give up easily.

"You really screwed things up, old man," Remus said, stretching his legs out in front of him as they sat in the living room of 12 Grimmauld Place, his arm around his wife, Tonks. "And tricking her into an apprenticeship with you… by the way, how did you do that?"

"It wasn't without help," Sirius said, thinking back to his tense conversation with Severus Snape. Funnily enough, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher was all for a relationship between Sirius and Hermione, just because he wanted her to be happy, and was sure that she _would_ be if she was with Sirius… even though it seemed completely inexplicable that she could be with someone so immature, and who shared so few interests with her.

"Who'd you get?" Tonks asked, snuggling up to her husband.

Sirius muttered something unintelligible. When they asked him to repeat himself he spoke a bit louder.

"Severus Snape," he muttered, and they burst out laughing. "Oh, what? He just had a talk with her, got her to see her options. Turns out she was already leaning towards either teaching or further education. When he pointed out the average age of the current Hogwarts teachers, she decided to put herself forward for a few apprenticeships, just in case anyone popped off within the next few years." His friends snorted. "I just got lucky that she's best at Transfiguration, like I was. Minerva didn't even know that she was getting a promotion; she just thought she'd get to continue teaching her favourite pupil, which is why she gave her the apprenticeship."

"I bet you used persuasion there," Remus said, and he took a swig of whiskey.

"Not much was needed," Sirius said. "And I didn't do it. Severus did."

"So it's 'Severus' now?" Tonks asked, smiling. "We should mark this day on the calendar, shouldn't we?"

"Probably," Remus said.

"That's enough," Sirius said sulkily. "Wish I hadn't told you now."

"But you'll need our help!" Tonks said hastily. "You can't just go around seducing her; that's not what she wants. Hermione's the kind of girl who'd wait until after marriage."

"Yes," Remus agreed carefully, looking Sirius straight in the eye. Sirius didn't know that Remus had heard their conversation the morning after… well, the night before. But he felt uneasy at his friend's look, and averted his eyes.

"So, are you expecting again, dear cousin?" he asked Tonks, having noticed her refusal to drink any alcohol.

"I'm surprised it took you this long to ask," she said, patting her stomach.

"Well, when one is being bombarded by questions, one finds it difficult not to answer," Sirius said loftily, and he laughed as he ducked the cushion that was thrown at him. "Leave off!" he growled. "You'll get them in the fire if you're not careful!"

"Hermione won't know what's hit her," Tonks said, and she bit her lip, looking at the two old school friends throwing pillows back and forth. She quickly cast a Shielding Charm over the fireplace to stop any cushions from falling inside, and moved the glasses out of the way as the fight escalated. "Break it up, children!" she called to the two grown men, who merely ignored her.

* * *

"How are you feeling about your apprenticeship, Hermione?" Harry asked, helping her pack all of her books. "Excited?"

"Nervous," Hermione said. "What if I'm not good enough?"

"That's not _our_ Hermione talking, is it?" Ron said, feigning shock. "Since when has she ever _not_ been brilliant at anything and everything?"

"Flying," Hermione said. "And if it wasn't for the DA, and Professor Snape's private lessons, I never would have got an O for my Defence N.E.."

"Well, we all suffered from lack of decent teachers, except for Professor Lupin," Harry said loyally. "Though why Snape…"

"_Professor_ Snape, Harry."

"…chose to give you private lessons, I'll never know," he said, shaking his head.

"You know the hell he went through, being a spy for all those years," Hermione said, a gentle reprimand in her tone. "Not to mention how lonely he's been. He needed the company, and we've had really interesting conversations. Stimulating ones. Ones where _Potions Weekly_ is discussed and the word 'Quidditch' is never spoken."

"Hey!" the boys chorused, and Ginny entered the room.

"What's with all the noise?" she asked, and she helped Harry to seal down the boxes of books.

"Just talking about Sn… _Professor_ Snape," Harry told his girlfriend. "And how Hermione kept hanging out with him."

"I thought you were having a secret affair with him," Ginny said, shrugging her shoulders, and the boys look scandalised. Hermione had a strange look on her face.

"With Professor Snape?" she said. "No. He just needed someone to talk to, who could come to understand his situation, who even understood part of his background. Also, someone who had an actual _appreciation_ for Potions, unlike most people."

"You were talking about _Potions_ during your _Defence_ training?" Ron asked incredulously. "Blimey, you _are_ mental, Hermione."

"Stop using so many italics," Hermione told him, and he looked confused. "Oh dear. Sorry, Ron. It's a Muggle reference."

"Not really," Ginny said. "_I_ know what you mean. Ron's just dense."

"Hey!" her brother repeated, this time annoyed at his sister.

"At least Neville's going to be there, so I won't feel so alone," Hermione continued. "It'll be good to have a fellow apprentice, and someone I know so well. I don't want to take up any more of Professor Snape… huh, now I can use his first name. I don't want to use up any more of _Severus'_ time with intellectual discussions, not now that I don't have private lessons as an excuse."

"You needed an 'excuse'? So you _were_ having an affair!" Ginny exclaimed, and Hermione frowned at her.

"No, we weren't," she said stiffly. "Honestly, Ginny. Ever since you've been with Harry, you've only had one thing on your mind. Romance," she said hastily, as Ron glared at the three of them, suspicious.

"All right," he said, turning away to seal the last box.

"Anyway, are you two looking forward to starting your Auror training?" Hermione said, changing the subject to Ginny's relief.

"Yeah," Harry said. "It's great to have so many connections sometimes, don't you think?"

"It's great to have significant scars as well," Hermione said, and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes," he said. "It's not like I'm the only one with a lightning-shaped scar on my forehead anymore. Thank Merlin for fans."

"I'm now not the only one with really frizzy hair, although at least mine's natural," Hermione said, fingering her uncontrollable curls.

"There are more redheads," Ginny added.

"And _so_ many people who are wearing glasses now when they don't even need them," Harry finished. "Don't you just love anonymity?"

"Oh yes," Hermione said, and they all collapsed onto the floor dramatically, looking at the boxes around them, and hoping that Hermione's quarters would be big enough to accommodate all of her books.

* * *

Sirius looked at the plan tacked up on the wall of his room. He'd long ago taken down the inappropriate photos of naked and nearly-naked women, and instead put up pictures of Hermione, which he had charmed so that only he could see that they were her. To everyone else, they were just more pictures of motorcycles.

_My Master Plan to Win Back Hermione's Heart_

It was insipid, and so unlike him that he had considered rewriting it. But it was to the point. It said what he was trying to accomplish, making it easier to focus.

At least, to _try_ and focus. His eyes would constantly wander to the pictures surrounding the parchment. In fact, now that he came to think of it, the only pictures and photographs that he had on the wall were of Hermione. The only clippings from _The Quibbler_ and _The Daily Prophet_ were of her.

"I've got it bad, haven't I?" he murmured, tracing a finger along his favourite picture of her. They'd all gone to the park across the road to watch the fireworks at the start of the year. The light was just right; a firework was going off in the background; Sirius raised his camera and took a picture just as Hermione turned to look at him. She smiled before she realised who it was; and it was the turn and the smile that the picture had caught.

With a sigh, Sirius returned to his plan.

_My Master Plan to Win Back Hermione's Heart_

_Get her to apprentice at Hogwarts so that she's closer_

_Beware__ of Severus Snape's wrath_

_Tempt her with books from the family library—the Light stuff, not the Dark stuff_

_Buy her flowers and roses (check with Tonks to make sure that that's still the done thing)_

_Wine and dine her_

_In general, woo her_

That was where he'd got up to. Tonks had given him some good ideas for how to continue; but would Hermione think it too contrived? Would his plan ever really work?

Could he possibly win her back?

* * *

"**What do you think of it so far? **_**Roo-bish**_**!"**

**Ah, love Morecambe and Wise. Hurrah! But really. What **_**do**_** you all think of it?**

**This is the sequel of **_**That One Little Word**_**. You can see how original I like to be with my titles, can't you? Sorry that there are no cool titles using alliteration with this story, unlike it's predecessor. I hope you enjoy it all the same. Stay tuned for chapter two!**

**Oh, and let me know if you feel that it's necessary to have read **_**TOLW**_** first. As I'm the writer, I've no real idea, since I already know everything that's gone on before this. I'll explain things along the way, but do let me know.**


	2. To Err, or Not to Err

"To Err, or Not to Err"

Had it _really_ been a good idea to help his old enemy? Certainly, he thought that Hermione would be happy with Black; well, the old Hermione would. With her changed attitude towards him, maybe it hadn't been such a good idea. Oh well. Time would tell.

What _had_ been the reason for her change of heart? Severus wondered. She wouldn't be stupid enough to do anything like _that_ with the notorious ladies' man… would she?

"Granger, you _didn't_…" he said to the empty room. "Did you?"

He'd kill him. If Sirius Black put a foot wrong, Severus Snape would kill him.

* * *

Hermione would miss the train back to Hogwarts. She would be going ahead to Hogwarts by a few weeks. In fact, she was meeting Neville at the Ministry of Magic that very day, so that they could floo to the headmistress's office.

"Hello, Neville!" Hermione exclaimed, dropping her suitcase to the ground and running forward to jump into his arms. "How wonderful to see you again! Isn't this year just going to be fantastic?"

"And the two years after that," Neville added, and he picked up Hermione's suitcase, ignoring her protests. "Come on. We have to go and sign in for our floo pass."

All staff members of Hogwarts had to have a floo pass, a card that allowed them to floo wherever they wanted without question. The catch was that every journey was recorded, and they had to sign a register to say whether the trip was for personal use, school use, or both. A lot of restrictions had been placed after Voldemort was killed, just in case another mass-murdering megalomaniac decided to try and take over the wizarding world, vanquishing many people in their path.

As Ron had put it, Lord Voldemort was "the ultimate spoilt-sport".

The apprentices were meeting their mentors at the Ministry as well, and Professor Sprout was busy arguing with a Ministry official over a plant that she wanted to take back to Hogwarts. The clerk was, all the while, looking _very_ warily at the plant, which was moving ever so slightly, and ever so menacingly.

"There you are," someone said, and Hermione turned around wildly to see Sirius Black standing behind her, arms crossed, brows furrowed as he looked between her and Neville suspiciously. "Am I interrupting?"

"N-no, Professor Black," Neville said, wide-eyed. "I'm with Luna… well, at least after this year, of course. After all, sh-she's still a student. You see, Ron's with Lavender now, so…"

"Ah yes," Sirius said. "Though, since you're not exactly her teacher, it's not exactly against the rules to pursue a… romantic relationship with her, just as long as it isn't shown too… publicly." He kept glancing at Hermione while he spoke, making her blush, and look away. "And who are _you_ with, Hermione?"

"It looks like Professor Sprout's ready to go, Neville," she said, as the Ministry clerk backed away, waving Professor Sprout towards the fireplaces, handing her the four floo passes. "Come on. Now, hand over that suitcase!" she insisted, trying to wrestle it out of Neville's hand.

"Nah-ah-ah," he said, grinning. "Let me play the gentleman, Hermione. It's good practise for when Luna arrives at Hogwarts."

"All right," she said resignedly, taking a tighter hold on her bag as she looked again at Sirius. He raised an eyebrow at her, reminding her of Professor Snape. She wondered how he was, and couldn't wait to see him again, even if they couldn't have the long discussions that they had had last school year.

"Right," Sprout said. "Passes. Here's yours, Neville. Sirius. Hermione. And mine."

"I'll hold the plant if you like, Professor," Hermione said bravely.

"Oh, it's fine, Hermione," the teacher replied. "I've got a good hold on it. You keep an eye on us, and make sure that we all get through. You first, Neville. Stand back a bit when you get out at the other end. I don't know how this will travel."

Neville went first, followed by Professor Sprout, and then Sirius. Hermione followed; and when she shot out of the fireplace at the other end, she was relieved to see that the plant was still intact. It took her some moments to realise that she hadn't got very far forward, because Sirius was holding her.

"I'm fine, thank you, Professor Black," she said, ice in her voice. He let go of her, and she only felt momentarily guilty for the hurt look on his face. She brushed herself off, and looked up to smile at Minerva McGonagall.

"A year of firsts for us, isn't it?" Minerva asked, and she wrapped her former student in a big bear hug, one to rival Hagrid's. "A new teacher, two new apprentices, and a new headmistress."

"And a new resident of the Shrieking Shack," Hermione added, and they all laughed, thinking of what Professor Dumbledore had done to the place. There were many people uncomfortable with going there, because of past associations, and bad memories. But it looked quite different, inside and out, which made things a bit easier. Mainly, the rooms alternated with having bright furniture and plain walls, and plain furniture and bright walls.

"It'll be nice to have another calm year, like our last one," Neville said. "No madmen running about, creating trouble."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, with an ex-Marauder on the teaching staff," Severus said, entering the room silently. Everyone jumped at his voice, and he smirked.

"I'm hardly likely to play any jokes, now that I'm in a position of responsibility," Sirius said. "Ye of little faith, Severus. Ye of little faith."

"We should get him to take a wizard's oath," Severus told Minerva.

"What?" Sirius asked. "Oh, come on! Why can't you just trust me?"

"This coming from one of the original Hogwarts Merry Pranksters?" Sprout remarked. "I agree with Severus."

"Fine," Sirius said, throwing his hands up into the air. "I solemnly swear," Hermione snorted, recognising the reference, "that I will not play any pranks while I am teaching at this school."

"That leaves it wide open for when he's _not_ teaching," Severus pointed out, and Sirius glared at him.

"I'm offering the proverbial olive branch, and he's treating it like it's a thorn," he complained.

"Make the oath for while you're a teacher at Hogwarts," Hermione said slowly, finally looking at him. He gazed back at her intently, before sighing.

"Right-o, love," he said, and she quickly looked back at the floor as he held up his left hand, placing his right one over his heart. "I promise not to pull any pranks on _anyone_ while I am a teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Good man," Sprout said, clapping him on the back genially. "Right! I'm off to the greenhouses. Neville, will I see you there soon?"

"Yes, Professor."

"I'll go to my quarters, then," Sirius said, leaving the room. Before he left, he sent a significant—and smouldering—look at Hermione, who caught it, and looked away yet again. Minerva wondered at the interaction, and decided to talk about it to Albus later. But right now, she had two apprentices to talk to, and wanted to know why Severus Snape was in her office.

"Well, Severus?" she asked, indicating that Hermione and Neville should sit down. "What brings you here?"

"I came to greet the new apprentices, and ask them to tea in my rooms tomorrow," Severus said, causing Neville's jaw to drop, and Hermione to smile.

"We'd love to, Professor," she said, and Neville just nodded his agreement. Severus smiled, bowed slightly, and left the office. Minerva looked confused, but dismissed it as one of those things that probably drove Albus a bit loony as time went on. Definitely another thing to discuss with him that afternoon.

* * *

Fortunately, as Neville and Hermione had lived at Hogwarts for seven years, they didn't need to be given the 'grand' tour; only the parts that they didn't know, i.e. where their new rooms were.

They shared their own common room, where they could invite friends, including students at the school. There was a large study they would also share. They had separate bedrooms and bathrooms; and the quarters were about an equal distance between Professor Sprout's rooms in the castle, and Sirius' quarters. They were connected to the floo network, but could only be used by themselves and the teachers.

"This'll be great," Neville said, collapsing onto the couch in their common room that night after dinner. "And who'd have thought that _Snape_ could be so nice?"

"Severus," Hermione said. "We can call the teachers by their first names."

"Now that _will_ be difficult," Neville admitted. "It would be different if we hadn't had them as our teachers for the past seven years."

"Yeah," Hermione said, perching on the arm of the sofa. Neville looked up at her.

"What's the matter, `Mione?" he asked, immediately concerned. "You don't usually say 'yeah'. Something's wrong, isn't it?"

"I'm just nervous, I guess," Hermione said. "About the apprentice. I mean, you know what Sirius is like."

"And I know what you're like around each other," Neville said seriously. Hermione looked at him in panic. "Come on, Hermione. Everyone's seen it. Something changed between the two of you a couple of years ago. Now that you're going to be his apprentice, things have changed even more. What is it? Are you in love with him or something?" he asked with a grin, but the grin faded to a look of astonishment at Hermione's embarrassed glance away. "Oh. You are."

"Well, I _was_ in love with him," she said. "But he… it's complicated."

"We've got three years for you to explain it all to me, and it won't take that long," Neville said. Tears welled up in Hermione's eyes.

"Thanks, Neville," she said. "You're a great friend." She leaned down to give him a hug just as Sirius stepped through the fireplace. In astonishment, she lost her balance, and fell on top of Neville, and then to the floor with a small squeal.

"Hermione!" the two men cried, and Neville leapt up immediately, and helped her to her feet.

"Are you all right?" he asked, helping her sit down on the couch.

"Y-yes," she said, wiping the tears away. "Thank goodness for carpet, eh?"

"Yes," Sirius said, looking at her strangely. "Thank goodness for carpet."

"What brings you here, S-sirius?" she asked, tilting her chin up to look at him.

"Just here to say good night, apprentice," he said, still unsmiling. "So… good night. Good night, Neville."

"Good night, sir… Sirius," Neville said, quickly changing. Sirius almost smiled, but the sight of Hermione falling into Neville's arms would haunt him that night, and he had to leave now before he gave himself away.

**

* * *

**

Poor, poor Sirius. Misunderstandings are so frequent in human life, that it's hard _**not**_** to put them into fiction, isn't it? So you're going to get some, I'm afraid. But never fear! Sirius Black is not one to give up easily, and he'll think over it for a bit, and will eventually realise that he was just overreacting.**


	3. The Games Begin

"The Games Begin"

The day that the students would arrive dawned brightly, the sun sparkling on the waters of the Great Lake. Neville was in a dire state of nerves, hopping from one foot the other, hoping that he'd look all right for Luna.

"Like Luna will notice whether or not you're dressed nicely," Hermione said, and she chuckled as Neville showed her yet another tie that his Gran had given him. "She's more likely to be impressed if you were a necklace made of brightly-coloured shells, to keep away Blast-Ended Skrewts."

"But she might think I was taking the mickey," Neville said. "Honestly, Hermione. Don't you think I've thought of this?" He sighed, turning in front of the mirror again, and his fellow apprentice smiled into her hands. "Maybe I should just ask Sirius for his advice."

"If you like," Hermione said. "Meanwhile, I've got to go to the library. I was going to help Madame Pince open boxes of new books that only arrived yesterday. What took Flourish and Blotts so long, I'll never know."

"I thought she got those in last week," Neville murmured as Hermione left, but he returned to thinking about Luna, and tried on the first three ties again, still undecided. Yes, he'd definitely have to ask Sirius.

* * *

Hermione arrived in the library, glad to be able to escape, just in case Neville _did_ call in Sirius' advice. She wanted to be out of the way. It was bad enough apprenticing with him for the next three years, but she couldn't have backed out without giving valid reason… and she wasn't willing to give that reason to anyone.

When she got to the library, she was concerned to see that Madame Pince wasn't at her desk; and yet there were the boxes of books. Strange. They didn't have the usual seal on them that F&B used.

"Idiot," she said to herself, hitting her forehead. "The books arrived last week. Hell, I _helped_ her unpack them. And now I'm talking to myself."

"It's not talking to yourself if someone hears you," Sirius said, and Hermione turned around so quickly that she almost fell over, and had to clutch at the desk.

"What're you doing here, S-sirius?" she asked.

"They're my books," he said. "Well, sort of. I'm donating some of the books from the Black family library—only a small portion, since most of them are dark—but I invited you here to have a look first. See if there's anything you like."

"W-why?" Hermione said, sensing a catch.

"Well," Sirius said, shifting his feet about as he looked down at the carpet. "I was hoping that you might… that you might… like to go out to dinner in Hogsmeade with me. Sometime. Just the two of us." He looked up hopefully, only to see Hermione's stony expression.

"I knew it," she said, her voice catching. "You weren't just giving away books. There just had to be a proviso, didn't there?"

Sirius realised his mistake, and his eyes widened. "No! Hermione, it wasn't like that. I just thought that you'd like them. I wasn't sure if you'd like flowers or chocolates—particularly being the daughter of dentists—but I know you liked books." She started to walked past them, tears making their way down to her chin. "This was just supposed to be the kind of grand gesture that you're supposed to make when you want to ask a girl out. I thought." She paused, and looked up at him. "Look, Hermione," he said, frustrated that it had all gone wrong. "Please. Take the books. Take all of them if you want. I don't want them; I want you to have them. I'm not used to doing this… this romance thing, you see. I'm just a beginner."

Hermione nodded. "You are a beginner, Sirius. You're a beginner in many ways. But your past 'relationships' have always led to the one thing, haven't they?"

Sirius smirked. "Well, quite frankly, Hermione, when it comes to you, been there and done that."

She looked like he had slapped her, and once again he realised that he'd done something wrong. This was made perfectly clear when, tears spilling over properly now, she ran from the library. He sank back against the shelf, and ran a hand down his face. Well, he'd let Madame Pince sort through the boxes. There were probably books in there that Hogwarts had already, but some that the library definitely didn't have, he was sure of it.

Feeling like a complete failure, he left the library.

* * *

"But… but that was really romantic!" Neville said, his eyes wide. "You turned him down? You turned down an offer of _books_? Even when the proverbial strings were no longer attached? Besides," he added, frowning down at her while she sat in an armchair by the fireplace, curled up, "it sounds like he didn't want to _force_ you into having dinner with him. Honestly, Hermione. Just _dinner_. In exchange for _books_. Where did you leave your personality?"

"Leave it, Neville!" Hermione said, annoyed with herself. She had definitely overreacted; she realised that now. "Look, I told you what he said."

"Yes; and you told me the reason behind it," Neville said. It had taken some hours for Hermione to tell him all about her past with Sirius; the part with the 'romance' in it, at any rate. By now, it was time for them to start getting ready to go down to the Great Hall, to wait for the students to arrive. Neville had settled on no tie; after all, he'd be wearing robes over the top, so what did it matter? Hermione pointed out that she had been saying that from the start, but he had been in such a state that he hadn't noticed it.

"So now you know why…"

"Hermione, it sounds like he loves you," he said softly, sitting down in the opposite armchair.

"But he's never actually said it," she said, staring into the fire. "He's never said that he loves me. I don't think he can ever say it; mean it in that way."

"You won't know if you never give him the chance," he replied, crossing his arms and arching an eyebrow. When Hermione glanced at him, and saw this, she almost laughed; he reminded her of Severus right then. "What?"

"You, with your raised eyebrow," she said, and she giggled. "I'm glad we had that tea with Severus. You two get on so well now."

"He's probably lulling me into a false sense of security," Neville said petulantly, but they knew that he was joking. They really _did_ get on now. As it turns out, Neville was able to talk about the magical properties of plants without stuttering nervously; and since so many were used in potions, he and Severus could talk for hours on end about them. Now, they had their own night of discussion, even if it was only for the holidays, and Severus was also able to reserve a night of conversation with Hermione. They also had another night when they all got together, and just chatted.

Sirius was suspicious whenever they were all in conversation. He was jealous of the easy relationship that Hermione had with the two men, and wished that he could talk with her the way that they did.

* * *

Dinner arrived. Neville was completely preoccupied with smiling benignly at Luna, who kept smiling at him as well. So Severus and Hermione were left to their own devices, talking around him, laughing over some joke that Severus had heard from Professor Slughorn. Sirius listened, but since he wasn't a potions nut, it just didn't seem all that funny. He didn't understand the punch line, something which had never happened to him before.

The teachers were distracted by something that happened at the Hufflepuff table. All of the pumpkin juice seemed to have been spiked by something that made all their skin turn blue, reminding Hermione of Smurfs. A lot of other Muggleborns laughed at this as well, recognising the reference.

"The Ravenclaws," Severus said.

"Of course!" Hermione said. "Blue. But what made them…"

"Look!" Neville said, pointing at the Ravenclaw table, where all of a sudden, everyone's knives turned into mice, which started running around the table. As soon as one ate something, it would explode.

"The Slytherins," Professor Sprout said, noticing their laughter, and pats on the back of congratulations.

"Seems I won't be needed as prankster this year after all," Sirius said.

"What's…" Minerva began, and she saw the Gryffindors watching the Slytherins, who were suddenly all standing up, getting away from the benches, which were disintegrating into a substance which was a cross between snow and jelly. Finally…

"And now the Hufflepuffs," Severus said, smirking as all of the Gryffindors were rained upon, the rain making their black robes turning yellow, with black badgers on them.

"A prank war," Sirius said, his eyes gleaming. He glared at the rest of the staff members. "And I can't even participate!"

**

* * *

**

Well, that was fun deciding on what the pranks would be. I'm hoping that my powers of creativity won't fail me. Anyone got any ideas for pranks (the non-dangerous type) to be played? And yes, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes will also be used.


	4. Tension Abounds

"Tension Abounds"

"Do _you_ think I'm overreacting, Severus?" Hermione asked. Neville had had to leave their discussion early; and, for once, their conversation hadn't been in relation to potions; rather, they talked about the prank war among the four houses. Hermione was of the opinion that it was a worry, as the pranks may escalate. Neville thought that she was overreacting, and then remembered that he had to cut some plants at a certain time that evening, and had to get ready. Now, it was just the two of them.

"About the prank war?" Severus asked. He shook his head. "No. I agree that it should be watched. Something bad will happen eventually. The problem with most teenagers is that they don't know when they've crossed the line. The pranks at the opening feast weren't too advanced. They were good, but not noteworthy. It's when they start to try and outdo each other that things will get dangerous. Watch for that, Hermione."

"Okay," she said, looking down at her cup of coffee, swirling it around lazily. "It's a pity that we're the only two people in Hogwarts who are concerned. Even Mr. Filch…"

"He's a cynic, but only to the point where he's worried about the pranks at an amateur level. He believes students to be a nuisance, a pain; not a danger."

"Oh dear."

"Oh dear, indeed."

"So… what do we do?"

"We wait, and we watch, and we act if necessary," Severus said. "Gods, I'm loathed to teach them anything in the classes in case they used the spells on each other."

"You teach Defence, not Charms or… Transfiguration." She sighed.

"What's Black done now?" Severus asked darkly.

"I made a stupid mistake… well, it was kind of justified, but not… not that much."

"Tell me."

Obedient as ever, Hermione told her old professor everything that had happened in the library. His eyes gleamed momentarily at the prospect of new books, but focussed his mind back on the problem at hand, i.e. Black's botched attempt to get Hermione to go out with him. Honestly; did these two need it written in black and white?

"What do you think he'll try next?" he finally asked.

"You think he'll try again?" Hermione asked, wide-eyed.

"This is Sirius Black we're talking about, not Ronald Weasley," Severus reminded her, putting down his own cup of coffee. "But tell me. What did you actually _do_ with Black? There must be some reason that things changed so drastically."

Hermione blushed. She really hadn't been planning to tell Severus so much. She hadn't been planning to tell him anything at all, actually. But she spilled the beans about the fact that she and Sirius had had sex after another night of research.

Severus realised that, judging from what she told him of what had happened in the library, it was the night he had pushed Black towards Hermione, without the man's knowledge, of course. The fact that he was responsible for this happening to her made him mentally smack himself on the forehead.

"But let's forget about him," Hermione said, bringing his thoughts back to her. "Now; how do we stop things from getting worse?"

"I thought we agreed that there was nothing that we could do," Severus said, focussing.

"If we could find a way to restore house unity, then maybe…"

"How do you propose to do that, Granger?"

"Well, we'll just have to discuss it next time we meet, won't we, _Professor_?" she said, standing up and stretching. "Not tomorrow night, but the night after; am I right?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll see you then. Good night!"

"Good night, Hermione."

* * *

Sirius accosted Hermione as soon as she left the office.

"Hey!" she cried out, reaching for her wand; but as it was her right arm that he was holding… well, that made it more difficult.

At her shout, Severus shot out of the room, just as Sirius was reassuring Hermione that it was only him.

"Bloody hell, Black; are you trying to give me a heart attack?" he bellowed, making them both jump.

"Never mind you!" Hermione said. "Are you both trying to _kill_ me?"

Wrenching her arm from Sirius' grasp, she ran down the corridor, intent on getting away from the two professors, to calm her beating heart. That was the most intimate contact that she had had with Sirius since the last battle at the Ministry, when he had helped her destroy the veil, and she needed to calm down. It didn't help matters when Severus had leapt to her rescue, scaring the bejeezers out of her.

"Men," she fumed, reaching the apprentices' quarters in record time. She gave the password to the portrait of Jesper the Jester ("Angel's Snare"; they were variations on plant names, as they couldn't use Transfiguration spells for passwords, in case they transfigured the painting), and entered the room.

"Howdy," Luna said as Hermione strode in.

"Hi, Luna," she said. "Hi, Neville."

"Hermione."

"Plants all taken care of?"

"Yep," he replied, and he smiled up at Luna, who was stroking his hair as he lay on the floor, head in his lap, where she sat cross-legged near the fire. "Want to join us? We're just having some Butterbeer that the house elves sent up."

"I suppose," Hermione said, and they poured her a goblet. She sat down on a beanbag, which she had bought at the new shop in Hogsmeade. It specialised in selling various 'Muggle curiosities', mostly retro things which they clearly thought personified the non-magical humans.

"What's wrong?" Luna asked, noticing how flushed Hermione was, and how she was still trying to catch her breath.

"You look like you've run from one end of the castle to the other," Neville said.

"Well," Hermione said, and she tilted her head from side to side, before nodding. "Yes."

"What did Severus do?" her fellow apprentice asked, immediately sitting up, feeling protective.

"It wasn't him," Hermione said, and she told them what had happened when she left the office. "Honestly," she said after she had finished the tale, "it makes me want to give up on men altogether. At least Severus was jumping to my defence. Sirius just decided to grab me. I don't know what he was hoping to do…"

"Maybe he wanted to throw you against the wall and kiss you senseless," Luna suggested dreamily. She looked significantly as Neville, who blushed and cleared his throat.

"Or maybe he just wanted to talk," he said, his voice higher than usual. Hermione looked between them, but decided that she didn't want to know.

"Anyway, kind of 'been there, done… that'," she told Luna. Now she had to explain what had gone on for a third time, the second time that evening. Luna's eyes grew wider and wider.

"So that's what happened when you left me," she said. "If you'd come back straight away, instead of… you know… with him, then I would have been discovered earlier. And then I might have been found, and I couldn't have rescued Ginny, who might have been killed, and then we wouldn't have got the book, or…"

"Yes, thank you, Luna," Hermione said, getting dizzy. She took a swig of her Butterbeer, and then continued. "I really don't think that I need to be reminded of everything that was going on at the time. It was bad enough being thrown out of his room the next morning, then finding out that the two friends I still had at Hogwarts were _both_ gone…"

"Calm down, `Mione," Neville said, pouring her some more Butterbeer. "It's in the past; let it go. You've got bigger problems to worry about."

"Yes," Luna said. "The Christmas Ball is fast approaching, and you two have to be involved, since you're the apprentices."

"It's not for two months!" Hermione said.

"Don't you remember how busy it was when you were head girl?" Neville asked, propping himself up on his elbows. "The whole thing was insane. It was a good thing you took Percy's advice, and got everything up and running _two months_ in advance."

"Oh yes," Hermione said, remembering the committees, the responsibilities, the decorations, the theme…

"What's the theme this year?" she asked curiously.

"We'll find out when Professor McGonagall tells us," he replied, settling back into Luna's lap, and continuing to browse through the plant catalogue Professor Sprout had given him. "Until then, there's not much we can do."

"Hey…" Hermione said. "The ball was a great way to encourage house unity. Maybe it will help stop the prank war!"

"Who said anything about stopping the prank war?" Luna asked, frowning. Neville sighed, and turned his head around slightly to speak to her a bit better.

"Hermione thinks that prank war will escalate out of control, into something far more sinister than what it really is: just a bit of fun."

"It's logical," Hermione said, crossing her arms after she put down her empty goblet.

"Hermione, we'll stop things before they get too bad," Luna said reassuringly.

"Hermione!" Sirius called, banging on the wall beside the portrait, startling the three occupants of the common room. "Hermione, please open up! I just want to explain, that's all! Honest!"

"'Honest'? What is he, six?" Hermione muttered, standing. She stretched; and, with a sigh, she went to the portrait, and pushed it open. But she didn't stand aside to let him in, even though he waited patiently.

"May I come in?" he asked finally.

"I'm sorry, but we have company," she said politely, indicating Luna, although Sirius couldn't actually see her.

"So this is where Neville's been," Sirius said, his voice as tight as his pants. Hermione forced herself to focus on his face. Fortunately for her, Sirius was too busy glaring in Neville's general direction to notice her look. "Playing the boyfriend instead of playing the chaperone."

"I don't need a chaperone!" Hermione said, furious. "Why would I need a chaperone to talk with Severus? And Neville was there earlier. What, didn't start playing spy until after he left? How childish can you get, Sirius?"

"Look; I worry about you," he said, slamming his hands on either side of the entryway in his frustration. "He used to be a Death Eater, and therefore has no morals…"

"Oh, and you can lecture on ethics, can you?" Hermione retorted. "Sirius, for Merlin's sake, there's nothing going on. I'm his friend, one of his only friends. In fact, Neville and I _are_ his only friends. Come to think of it, you could make more of an effort."

"He might try to take advantage of you and your… inexperience." Sirius coloured slightly.

"What inexperience?" Hermione asked, her voice weary. "Sirius, you took away my innocence; you know that I'm no virgin. How could the term 'inexperience' possibly apply to me?"

"Am I your only?" he asked, and she took a few moments to realise what his grammatically-inaccurate sentence meant.

"Of course you are," she said icily. "I'm not married, am I?"

"It didn't take marriage with me," he said, looking at her intensely.

"It never does, does it, Sirius?" With that, Hermione tried to pull the painting closed, but Sirius grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"No you don't," he said, and he pulled her out into the corridor. "You've only had sex once, and I call that inexperience."

"I told you, he's my _friend_," Hermione said, tears threatening to escape her eyes. "You're not my friend, Sirius."

He was stung by the remark, and his face reflected this hurt. But Hermione wasn't ready to let up just yet.

"Sirius, I won't go out with you; it's as simple as that," she said, her voice dropping in volume. "I loved you, and thought that you could love me back. But I waited too long, and I'm not going to make the same mistake."

"So you're going to make _me_ wait instead?"

"Give it up, Sirius. I'm going to find someone else; or at least let that someone else come to me. Someone who'll appreciate me enough to love me, enough to want to marry me, enough to…"

"Then I'll marry you," he said, and she stopped.

"No," she said. "Whatever reason it is, I'm not going to marry you because of that. It's not the right reason."

"How I feel about you… isn't that the right reason?" he asked hoarsely, so afraid that this would happen. He hadn't even planned on it, and he'd been afraid all along that this would happen.

"I also need someone who needs me back," Hermione said. "If Severus needed me, needed me to love him like that, I would. Because it's important to feel needed, and he appreciates me on so many levels."

Severus was watching from the shadows. He and Black had argued for several minutes, before the latter took off at a run to find Hermione, and Severus silently followed. Now he listened in astonishment at Hermione's confession. She'd be ready to love him? Merlin, she was having trouble getting over Black. Still, it would be fun to get one over on the man who had tormented him, and it might even drive Black closer to Hermione. Who knows? He might even get something right about this courting thing.

Ah. Courting. Who knew about courting? Why, Narcissa Malfoy certainly would…

"You'd give yourself to Snivellus?" Sirius asked, and Hermione bristled. Severus stiffened where he was in the dark. It had been awhile since he had heard that name, and it stung just as much as ever it did.

"I didn't love you at first sight, Sirius!" Hermione hissed. "I only _grew_ to love you; and I was only attracted to you on a physical level at the start. Maybe that's all it still is. Severus is a much better man than you'll ever be, than you could ever hope to be. He's done so much, risked so much of himself, for everyone. I know there were plans to set him up with someone," Severus nearly gave himself away by laughing out loud, "but he wouldn't appreciate it."

"Appreciation," Sirius said, laughing with his usual bark. "Is that all it's supposed to be?"

"Is that all _what_ is supposed to be, Sirius?" Hermione asked. She and Severus both held their breath, hoping that Sirius would rise to the occasion.

Disappointingly, he didn't.

"Never mind," he said, throwing up his hands. He hit himself around the back of the head mentally, just as he had done when he startled her before. He had, yet again, missed the perfect opportunity to use the L-word. What was _wrong_ with him?

Instead, he just walked off, muttering to himself, leaving Hermione behind. Now the tears escaped, and she threw herself to the ground. Luna stuck her head out the portrait, and hurried over to her friend. She took her back into the common room, and Severus returned to his quarters to mull over things.

**

* * *

**

Ooh. Things are getting deep, and not in a good way. I was originally going to have more pranks in this chapter, but ended up writing this whole, long thing, where people mainly talk, spy, and run about. Hmm. Not sure if I'm entirely satisfied. Oh well. Enjoy… I hope.


	5. Mulling Things Over

"Mulling Things Over"

That's precisely what they all did. Severus pondered over the Hermione/Sirius situation, wondering how he could possibly take advantage of it, and help them at the same time. Well, help Hermione. He was willing to help Sirius over a cliff, but that would upset his young friend, so he decided against it.

Hermione mulled over her still-lingering attraction to Sirius. No, he had never said the word love. She had, but he hadn't. She couldn't remember him ever using the word in relation to her, not even casually. Therefore, it couldn't really be love; so she should just get over this whole… thing… and just allow herself to have feelings for someone else, instead of letting Sirius cloud her judgement.

Sirius, meanwhile, thought about his inability to use the L-word. Didn't he lo… didn't he care about Hermione? And Merlin, he had said that he'd marry her. But she didn't want to; she'd rather by Snivellus than with him. That… that had never happened to him before.

"Good morning, Severus," Hermione said the next morning, sitting in her usual seat next to him, waiting for Neville to arrive.

"Good morning, Hermione," Severus replied. "Where's Neville?"

"He's coming," she said. Luna had spent the night in their rooms, though she stayed with Hermione to comfort her. So the older girl had left early so that Neville and Luna could say good morning to each other properly, without her there as the third wheel.

"_Prophet_'s arrived," he said, pointing up as owls flew over the tables, depositing newspapers to most of the teachers, and several of the students.

"Nothing from the mighty Aurors," Hermione muttered, meaning Harry and Ron. "I'd love to know whether or not they think that I actually still exist."

"Considering the—shall I say 'quality'?—of their essays, I highly doubt them to be capable of writing letters. Yes, Granger," he said, holding up a hand as she looked at him, hurt, "I realise that you all but wrote them. Truth is, I can tell your corrections anywhere, and I could see how many there were. Your writing style never changes. They were clearly always poor quality before you could get to them."

"I'm surprised they ever passed Divination, since I didn't learn that," she said, mollified by his comments. "But thank you, Severus."

"Your work always was exemplary," he said. "Now read your paper, and leave me to read mine, impudent girl."

She stuck her tongue out at him as she opened _The Daily Prophet_. She only had a subscription to it because it was the one sure-fire way she could keep track of her errant friends. They constantly made the newspaper in some capacity, which was reassuring to her, even though it irked her that they couldn't even picked up a quill to write a damn note. She'd only read _The Quibbler_ if she had her choice, just because it was supportive when nobody else believed Harry's story about Voldemort's return. But it wasn't published every day. She managed to wangle advanced copies out of Luna, though, and even Severus read the copies she would give him.

"Aargh!"

The loud scream arose from the Hufflepuff's table. Hermione was relieved to see that it wasn't Luna—as Neville hadn't arrived yet, they were clearly still together somewhere—but she recognised a Weasley's Wizard Wheezes prank. This one had the effect of turning the recipient's clothes inside out, which was extremely uncomfortable from what Hermione remembered of the experiment. Why she had consented to be a test subject she would never know.

"Just go and change in the girls' bathroom," Minerva called to the girl over the ruckus of laughter from the other tables.

"Uh, Professor? I mean, Minerva?" Hermione said quietly. The headmistress looked down at her. "Thing is… um… I helped to test it and… uh… she'll need the counter… well, the counter-product if she wants to get rid of the… effects… within twenty-four hours."

"You helped them?" Minerva asked, and everyone at the staff table raised their eyebrows at Hermione.

"I was paid for it," she said, shrinking back in her chair, trying to ignore Severus' sniggers. "Quiet, you," she hissed at him, and he straightened his face. "And it was a way of killing time over the summer. It's quite… ingenious, really. I mean, a spell that doesn't work on the person, but on their clothes. It's taken internally, so if you want to determine the culprit… well, perhaps the house elves might be able to help?"

"Very well, Miss Granger," Minerva said, as they all watched the young girl run out of the hall, crying as some of the boys jeered at her for the baby-pink bra and mismatched orange underpants that were on the outside, also inside-out. "Students," she said, after magnifying her voice. "If someone has the counter-product for Miss Webber's… problem, please get it to her immediately. If you don't have it, then the culprit _will_ be found, and will refund the member of staff who has to go and buy it. You have until the end of breakfast."

* * *

As it turned out, the student _didn't_ have the counter-product, so Miss Webber was excused from her morning classes while Hermione flooed to Diagon Alley so that she could go to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She asked Fred and George just how many Hogwarts students they reckoned had bought products from them before school began, and they shame-facedly told her that possibly every student in Hogwarts had bought stock from their shop.

"It's good for business!" they said, but she just rolled her eyes, paid for the 'antidote', and left them behind, dealing with all of their mail orders.

They had neglected to tell her that most of them were from Hogwarts students… and that there were more than usual this year.

* * *

The Ball Committee was started right on time. The Head Boy and Girl were on it, of course, as were the prefects from each house, and the two apprentices. Various other students, and some of the teachers, were also on the committee. The theme was, as suggested by Dumbledore, 'rainbows'.

That raised a lot of eyebrows; but Minerva was insistent.

"It's probably because of that damned house of his," Severus muttered to Hermione during the meeting. "I suppose we'll have to dress in rainbow colours as well."

"What joy," she murmured back.

Sirius glared at them from where he sat in one corner of the room. When he was moody like this, it made him all the more attractive, and some of the girls on the committee had positioned themselves so that they could see him better. Hermione didn't glance at him once, and instead kept whispering to Severus. They were sitting far too close. He didn't like it.

You _must_ love her, Padfoot old boy, he told himself. Why are you so possessive? Hey! You did it! You used the _L-word_. Next step: saying it to Hermione.

Proud of himself, Sirius finally smiled, though it came out as more of a smirk. One girl nearly swooned; but still Hermione wasn't looking.

In faith, she was actually considering decorations. Probably because that's what they were discussing.

"Now, will we have rainbow clothes and plain decorations, or rainbow decorations, and plain clothes?" the Head Girl, Felicity Waddlestone asked.

"Either way, we'll get a headache!" Hermione called to her. Felicity nodded.

"I know, Her… Miss Granger," she said.

"And I think we should make the ball neutral territory," Hermione added, and Severus nodded. "No prank-pulling."

Some of the students groaned, and Severus raised an eyebrow at them. Neville chuckled from where he sat to Hermione's left, surreptitiously holding Luna's hand.

"Are you confessing to being in on the pranks being pulled?" the defence teacher asked slowly, and the noises ceased immediately.

"_No_ practical jokes or prank-pulling from _any_ student… or teacher," Hermione added, finally glancing at Sirius, who looked back at her innocently.

"I made a promise at the start of term, and I'm sticking by it, however reluctantly," he said.

"Very well, then," Felicity said, suppressing a sigh. They'd just have to step up the pranks a bit in the meantime, to make up for the missed night of pranking. And what an opportunity it would have been as well. "I'll consult with the headmistress, and make an announcement—either way—next time we meet. In the meantime, think about decorations, and any songs you know that have something to do with… rainbows." She sighed.

"Colours in general," Neville suggested, and she nodded.

"Colours in general," she repeated, and brought the first meeting of the Ball Committee to an end.

"Well done, Granger," Severus said to her as they exited from the room.

"Let's just hope that Minerva goes along with it," she replied as they walked along, followed by Neville and Luna.

"Funny," he said, chuckling. "If only teachers and students are forbidden from pranking…" And he finished with another chuckle, and shook his head.

"What?" she asked.

"You and Neville are exempt," he said. "So are Mr. Filch, Madame Pomfrey, and Madame Pince, for that matter. Classic."

"Yes," Hermione said, the wheels in her head turning. "Classic."

It was time for some more deep thinking.

**

* * *

Mwa-ha-ha-ha! This is definitely going to be fun. But seriously; does anyone have any pranking ideas that they particularly wish me to put in, if I can? Because as I said, the students will now begin to make up for just the one lost night of practical joking. So if you're going to make suggestions, make them now. In fact, there's not much writing I can do in the meantime (for this story) until I get enough suggestions.**


	6. Plans

"Plans"

Professor McGonagall, after much persuasion from Hermione and Severus, decided that the ball _should_ be prank-free… free from pranks by the students and teachers, anyway, which was good news to Hermione. She felt like being creative; and things had calmed down so much after Voldemort's defeat that, for quite some time, she had felt a certain boredom, an ennui.

Therefore, she decided to pull a prank; a big prank, a creative one, so elaborate and effective that the students would give up altogether. She wasn't quite sure what to do yet, and didn't feel that asking Sirius would be a very good idea. She didn't dare approach him.

No. She needed more brains behind this plan, and knew just where to find them…

* * *

They were to be known as The Pranking Five: A. Filch, H. Granger, N. Longbottom, I. Pince, and P. Pomfrey. Mr. Filch had foiled many pranks during his time, and could spot weak points from a mile off. Miss Granger was experienced in research, and worked for a notorious trickster. Mr. Longbottom had access to various plants, and had a girlfriend among the students. Madame Pince had a whole library of books at her fingertips, and links with many booksellers. Finally, Madame Pomfrey had vast medical knowledge, and had experience with curing victims of practical jokes.

Their first meeting was to be on Friday night, the night before the next Hogsmeade weekend, in case they needed to pick up supplies.

* * *

"Hermione?" Sirius asked after class on Friday afternoon. She paused in tidying up the piles of essays. "About the ball…"

"Yes, Sirius?" she said. Had he found out somehow about the meeting that night?

"Who are you going with?"

"Well, Neville's asked me, because he's not sure whether or not he can go with Luna," she replied.

"Are you going with him?" Sirius continued casually, helping her to pick up the parchments.

"I hadn't yet decided," she said. "He's asking Professor Dumbledore if he can ask Luna, after class today."

"Go with me," he said, finally looking her in the eye. "Please, Hermione. After all, you're my apprentice. It makes sense. And I… I want you to go with me."

"Why?" Hermione asked.

Why was it so hard for him to say the L-word when he was confronted with her? Here she was, right in front of him. She was waiting. Say it, Sirius, say it, he told himself.

"Because I… I… oh, Hermione, the words don't matter, surely?" he asked desperately, stepping forward. "Actions speak louder than words, and all that."

"Sirius, I…"

"Hermione, I _love_ you, and I'll prove it," he said, and she dropped the essays that she was holding.

"You… you _what_?" she asked.

I did it, Sirius thought triumphantly, and a huge smile spread across his face.

"I said it; I said it," he murmured, still smiling, as he closed the distance between them.

"But did you mean it, or are you just trying to… trying to…"

"I said I'd marry you, and I mean it," he said, holding her hands.

"No," she said, pulling her hands out of his. "I can't, Sirius."

"What?" His face fell as quickly as he had smiled. "But I've said it…"

"Sirius, I just can't," she said, blinking back the tears that threatened. "You've… I know it's unintentional, but you've toyed with my emotions too much. First, it was just friendship; then sex; then caring; and now love."

"Sounds like the right progression to me," he said. "Well, close enough."

"I'm _tired_," Hermione said, the tears now falling. "I'm so tired of my feelings. I'd just rather be like Severus at the moment, not bothered with these kinds of emotions. It's just… I'm drained. Give me time. I gave you plenty of time, quite frankly."

"I'll wait," he said anxiously, grabbing her hands again. "Gods, Hermione; if I have to wait fifty years, a hundred years even, I'll wait for you."

"Can you?" she asked, suspicious. "I know what you're like…"

"You know what I _was_ like, before… before you," Sirius said. "Hermione, don't… just don't give me up completely. I won't give you up completely. I never will."

"In the meantime, I can't… you understand that I can't go with you. To the ball."

"Who will take you, then?"

"Hermione!" Neville burst into the room just then. "Professor Dumbledore said that I can take Luna, and she's accepted already. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not, Neville," Hermione said, smiling. "I've already got backup."

"Right-o," he said, ducking out just as suddenly as he had come in.

"Well, then," Sirius said, looking back at Hermione, grinning.

"I didn't tell you… Neville's not the only person who's asked me," she said. "And I've already told him that I'd go with him if Neville could go with Luna. I'm not going to go back on my word."

"But…"

"With all respect, I wasn't going to go with you. I didn't know that you'd ask, for one thing."

"Yes," Sirius said, feeling as though he'd been stabbed through the heart. "So who are you going with?"

* * *

"I suppose I should be grateful to have been your backup," Severus said, raising his eyebrow at Hermione.

"There was always a good chance that Neville could go with Luna, seeing as how the ball will be neutral territory for practical jokes, and therefore everyone else," she replied. "And it's not as if their relationship isn't well known throughout the school."

"So you would have gone with me if Longbottom hadn't asked you first?"

"Yes, sir… Severus."

"I suppose that this ridiculous ball will be made slightly more bearable by your presence on my arm," he said, smirking.

"That's why you asked me, isn't it?"

"Well, it's always something to be proud of to be going to a ball with the most attractive girl in school."

Hermione gaped at him.

"Granger, you look like you're impersonating a fish," Severus said.

"I'm sorry, sir, but… I'm not the…"

"You are to me," he said. "Inside and out. You're my only friend who's female and younger than me. Don't you even remember what you looked like at the Yule Ball, and the balls after the Dark Lord's defeat? I'm not the only one to have noticed. I swear, you must be the only person in the wizarding world who doesn't see beautiful you are."

"I… wow."

"I don't say things like this lightly. Probably because I don't say things like this at all."

"It didn't sound like it," Hermione said, and she hugged him. "Thank you, Severus. You're very kind."

"Yes, well… don't let it get out, you hear? Now, disengage yourself from my person, and just be there at the ball in an outfit appropriate to the occasion. Of course, you'll look lovely in anything."

"Thank you, S-severus."

* * *

At the meeting, Hermione was very flustered. Sirius loved her, and was willing to wait for her; Severus thought she was beautiful, and was taking her to the ball. But now she had to concentrate on getting ready to out-prank the rest of the school with her fellow practical jokesters.

"As we all know, the theme has been changed to 'Hippie', which makes things interesting, as hippies are a Muggle thing," Hermione said. "Madame Pince?"

"Miss Granger and I have been looking at various histories of the Muggle period in the sixties that is most relevant to the hippie movement," the librarian said. "'Green power' was prevalent, which is where Mr. Longbottom comes in."

"Plants will be among the decorations, and Muggle plants at that," Neville said. "I am experimenting with manipulating the plants that will be used with magic. There has been some success."

"Green power wasn't just about flora, but about fauna as well," Hermione said. "This means that animals will also be invited. Among them are Mrs. Norris and Fang, as they're non-magical creatures. Well, I mean, cats and dogs are in the Muggle world, too."

"Mrs. Norris will be able to keep an eye on students," Filch said.

"The main colour for the ball is green," Neville said. "This is because Mother Nature was the basis for the green movement."

"Fortunately, rainbows will also be in the theme, so the students who don't like green can still wear whatever colour they like," Hermione added.

"But," Madame Pince added, "there's another thing that was practised in the sixties, and that is the Muggle drug called LSD… among other substances."

"Which is where Madame Pomfrey comes in," Hermione said. "Madame Pomfrey?"

"It is quite possible to recreate the effects of recreational drugs on the students without giving them anything dangerous," she said. "One of the advantages of having magic. We can create illusions that Muggles can't. We might even be able to change the ceiling in the Great Hall; the only problem being that everyone will notice it, whereas with the illusions we can enchant them to appear only to certain people."

"There's also the possibility of putting Cheering Potion into the punch," Hermione said.

"The only problem is that Severus will spot it from a mile off," Neville added.

"I'll be checking everybody at the door to make sure that they haven't got any Weasley's Wizard Wheezes with them," Filch said. "And if it looks like anybody's going to be breaking the rules by pulling a prank, I'll be on them in a second."

"We'll meet again before the ball," Hermione told the others. "Until then, we'll keep in communication with each other via owl, with any new ideas, or any problems that arise. Is that fine with everyone?" They all nodded. "Then have a good evening, and see you again soon!"

* * *

Severus, being the ex-spy that he was, noticed that something odd was going on. For one thing, Filch was getting more owls than usual, as was Madame Pince. He'd even seen Madame Pomfrey getting owls while he was in the hospital wing delivering potions to her. Hermione and Neville kept having little chats as well, when they clearly thought that nobody was looking.

Were these things connected?

"_You and Neville are exempt… so are Mr. Filch, Madame Pomfrey, and Madame Pince…_"

Huh, Severus thought, remembering what he had told Hermione. That's what they're up to. They're going to pull some elaborate joke on the whole school, aren't they? Well, this ought to be interesting. I won't mention it. I'll just be on my guard.

I wonder what they'll do?

**

* * *

**

Okay, does anyone have any further suggestions for the ball? I've never pulled any real practical jokes myself, so I don't know if this will be any good. So I'm definitely open to suggestions. Oh, and if you have any requests for music to be played at the ball—Muggle music from the 60s, you see—then please tell me.


	7. Prepping for the Ball

"Prepping for the Ball"

Neville ended up asking Sirius for help with choosing the music. It was supposed to be Muggle music from the sixties, and Sirius was just as knowledgeable as any Muggleborn when it came to their rock music.

"The Beatles," was his first suggestion. "You need Beatles music. That's just obvious, as obvious as needing Rolling Stones music."

"Beetles?" Neville asked.

"Maybe I'd better write down the names," Sirius said, amused. "I've still got a lot of records from the sixties and seventies."

"Okay," the apprentice said, and he handed over the parchment and quill. Sirius muttered as he wrote down name after name, occasionally chewing on the end of the feathery pen as he thought.

An idea began to form…

* * *

While he was busy choosing songs, Hermione was busy with Ginny, as they both tried to design their own dresses using magic. Thus far, they were unsuccessful.

"I'll just go in the dress I wore for the Yule Ball," Hermione said, throwing up her hands.

"No, no, no! You can't do that!" Ginny exclaimed. "You can do this, Hermione. _We_ can do this. Let's simplify it. Pick five colours, _just five_. Got them?"

"Blue, red, green, gold, pink," Hermione stated, and Ginny wrote them down.

"Right," she said. "Now, what kind of design do you want?"

"We're just going to hand these notes over to an expert, aren't we?"

"…Yes."

"Well, then I can just speak with them _directly_," Hermione said, taking back the notes they had been making. "Because of the big occasion, Professor McGonagall is allowing all the students the entire weekend for this. A group of dressmakers will be coming to Hogwarts. Morning sessions are for the male staff and students, and will be separated into Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, and then Ravenclaw and Slytherin."

"Alphabetical," Ginny said.

"Right," Hermione said. "Still promoting house unity, you see?"

Ginny snorted, thinking about the pranks that were still in the making. Hermione narrowed her eyes, and the younger girl coughed.

"Continue," she said.

"Fine. Afternoon and evening sessions will be for the girls. This time, in reverse. In other words, Slytherin girls on Saturday morning, to Gryffindor girls Sunday night."

"Sounds good."

"Right. We're only making notes to make things easier for the dressmakers."

"If I'd been aware of this, I would have saved us the trouble."

"What do you mean?"

"What I _mean_, Hermione, is that the dressmakers and tailors will _know_ what looks best on a person. Notes are completely unnecessary."

"Oh. I see," Hermione said, bowing her head. "Sorry I got carried away, Gin."

"What did you do for the Yule Ball?" Ginny asked incredulously.

"That was a few years ago, Ginny," Hermione said. "I sent away for the dress, anyway. I didn't want people to know about it. Now… things are different."

"I'll say," Ginny said, grinning. "You'll knock everyone's socks off, just like you always do."

"I don't always…"

"Well, you do when you doll up. Cheer up, `Mione. We're going to the ball!"

* * *

Placing his quill back down, Sirius smirked at the list of songs he had compiled. He had to double-check his record collection, to make sure that he had all of them, or could get his hands on the ones he didn't have. There was a _reasonable_ mixture; but he wanted as many songs about love as he could find to try and get his message across to Hermione.

He looked over the list again, pleased with his selection. Now he just had to arrange things so that he'd be dancing with Hermione for each romantic number. There was a lot of Beatles music, just because they were so clean-cut. He knew for a fact that Remus had a lot of records from the sixties. He was bound to have some of the sappier songs.

I Want To Hold Your Hand (The Beatles)

I Saw Her Standing There (The Beatles)

I Feel Fine (The Beatles)

Help! (The Beatles)

The Long and Winding Road (The Beatles)

Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond)

I Want You Back (The Jackson 5)

To Sir With Love (Lulu)

I'm a Believer (The Monkees)

When a Man Loves a Woman (Percy Sledge)

My Girl (The Temptations)

This was by no means an exhaustive list; in fact, it was only the first piece of parchment. These were just… all lovey-dovey songs, actually. He really had it bad, didn't he? With a sigh, Sirius set aside the list, placed his head in his hands, and wondered who she was taking to the ball. Despite all his questions, she hadn't told him. How bad could it really be?

Or how _good_? Did he have competition?

Well, he was going to knock her dead with his outfit. And knock her partner dead, with any luck.

Just not in the same way. Obviously.

* * *

The two-piece outfit that Hermione ended up with was a blue-green colour with gold flowers embroidered on the bust of the blouse. There was also a three-dimensional gold flower at the bottom of the heart-shaped neck. The skirt stopped above the ankles, and the dressmakers would craft matching sandals, as well as a small garland to go around her forehead. It was a cross between the typified flower-power outfit and a ball gown.

She heard that, on the first morning, Severus scared every single last one of the tailors assigned to him, as well as all of the others who tried to help. Hermione approached him on the second morning, and told him off. So he went along, agreeing to behave himself.

He nearly castrated the idiot who suggested dressing him up as a rock and roll singer, until they pointed out that they could at least put him all in his familiar black. After a lot of discussion, and a few near-hexes, they ended up with black, fake-leather trousers, black boots with silver buckles on them, and a ripped black shirt.

"Shows off your muscles, Professor Snape," one of the dunderheaded tailors said, and Severus glared at him. Flattered as he was, his physique was something that he tried to keep secret, as he was still incredibly pale, and littered with various scars from duels and torture sessions.

Ah well. Hopefully Hermione would appreciate it anyway. He wasn't trying to impress her—far from it—but she should at least have some pride in her dance partner.

"Better?" she asked him the next evening when they met in the hallways after her own fitting.

"Yes," he said shortly, raising an eyebrow. "Is that all, Hermione?"

She smiled. "Yes, sir. Uh, Severus. See you around then, shall I?"

"Indeed."

**

* * *

**

Getting to the ball. Next chapter, I should think. Sorry it's been awhile; and for those interested in the outfits… I just made them up, so I have no pictures of them for you to see. Unless, of course, any of you know Legillimancy, and can look into my mind… through the internet. Hmm.


	8. Night of the Ball

"Night of the Ball"

Sirius poked his head into the ballroom, and grinned at the bright colours. He was born in the sixties; and the decorations were so good that it was like a trip down memory lane for him. He had heard tell that Hermione and Neville were responsible for the decorations, helped by Madame Pomfrey, Madame Pince, and Filch. The house-elves had prepared the food, and platters covered the tables, which were up against the walls of the Great Hall. A disc jockey had his table up where the staff usually sat.

Smoothing down his suit, he entered the room, as there were already a number of students assembled. He almost wished that Harry would be there; but he couldn't get time away from his Auror duties.

"Hey, Sirius!" Neville called. He and Luna were already jiving to 'I Feel Fine'. "Great outfit. You almost look like the real thing."

"Ha-ha," Sirius said, unconsciously touching his hair. He'd had it straightened fully and cut shorter. With the casual black Muggle suit he wore, he was dressed as one of the Beatles.

"Which one are you?" Luna asked. She had charmed her blonde hair to be dyed in the shapes of different coloured peace signs and flowers. Her outfit was a pair of flared jeans with the same pattern as on her hair, and a short white shirt with thin straps. Neville wore all green, covered with darker green vines printed all over.

"Well, if I'd been able to borrow Harry's glasses, I could have come as John Lennon," Sirius mused. "Do you think Hermione will like it?" he continued, flaring his arms out as he did a girly twirl.

"Ask her yourself," Neville said. "She'll be here soon. Her date's picking her up from her rooms, and they should be here about… now." He grinned at the doors, and Sirius turned around to see Hermione and Severus enter the room arm-in-arm.

"She's here with _Snivellus_?" Sirius said, his voice a hiss. He glowered at them.

"It's good for him to get out and about like this," Luna said dreamily.

"Not with my Hermione," Sirius grumbled, and he stalked over to the table to help himself to some punch. Great. Now he'd have to work everything out around _Snivellus_ being with Hermione. Surely she didn't like _him_ in _that_ way?

"Isn't he possessive?" Neville remarked.

"Yes," Luna said. "But I bet that Professor Snape would be equally possessive. Let's hope that he doesn't fancy Hermione."

"I doubt it," Neville said. "Now, enough about them. Let's dance!"

* * *

'I'm a Believer' began to play, and Hermione dragged Severus onto the dance floor.

"No," he said shortly, but she was insistent.

"You're my date, and therefore my first dance partner," she said, and he rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he said, and suddenly she was in his arms. "Good thing I went to school in the seventies, isn't it?" He spun her out, and then back in, and she gasped. "Used to fast dancing." He dipped her quickly over one arm, as they continued to jive. Many people stopped what they were doing to watch the usually-stoic DADA professor dressed up in rock 'n' roll-type clothes, and dancing so energetically. Colin Creevey wished that he had his camera with him, and then remembered that he _did_ bring it, shrunk down and in his pocket, just in case. He immediately pulled it out, returned it to its normal size, and began taking pictures. His date—a fifth-year Hufflepuff named Jane—didn't mind in the least, as she was also keen on Wizarding photography, and knew that this was a moment that just needed to be captured.

"I had no idea you could dance like this, sir!" Hermione exclaimed, so involved in the dancing that she didn't notice the people staring at them in amazement. "It's incredible!"

Severus just smirked, and continued to swing her around, even lifting her into the air occasionally. Sirius gulped nervously, and took another swig of punch. Oh well. Snape could have her for the fast numbers. At his age, he'd tire out eventually.

_His_ age? Hang on. They were the same age.

Sirius groaned, and finished his third glass of punch, before retiring to the corner where some of the other teachers were gathered, gaping at Severus and Hermione.

"Who knew?" Minerva said, and she glanced at Sirius. "Did _you _know he could dance?"

"No," Sirius muttered sulkily.

"He's _good_," Professor Sprout said, and Sirius snorted quietly.

Oh. The DJ was changing records now. It was 'Yesterday', by The Beatles. He straightened his tie, thinking it most appropriate that the first slow dance he could have with Hermione would be a Beatles song, while he happened to be dressed _as_ a Beatle.

But they hadn't left the dance floor. Now Hermione and Severus were dancing to a slow song, smiling as they talked quietly to each other.

W-what? She was supposed to be with _Sirius_ for the slow numbers. Damn. He _knew_ they should have had dance cards instead; but that wasn't done in the sixties. He'd just have to cut in.

Was _that_ done in the sixties? He could have sworn it was… and that it still happened nowadays.

Okay. He'd do it.

* * *

"May I cut in?"

Severus raised an eyebrow, and Hermione froze.

"S-sirius?" she asked, turning her head to look at him.

"Well, you're my apprentice," he said, holding out a hand for her to take.

"Um… you can have the next free dance," she said, looking at his hand instead of in his eyes. Severus tightened the arm he had around her waist, and continued to look at Black.

"She'll let you know," he said, and then he danced her away. Sirius hoped not too many people had seen that. If you asked to cut in, you were supposed to be allowed to… you know… _cut in_! Bloody Snivellus, stealing Hermione away.

Okay, calm down, Padfoot, he told himself. Find someone else. Look. There's a seventh year… it's Ginny! Ask her.

Ginny was happy to dance with Sirius, having known him so long. She had turned up to the ball by herself, since Harry couldn't come. She and Sirius were able to discuss their absent friends, swapping news, and even continued into the next dance, 'I Saw Her Standing There'. For a time, he was able to think about something other than Hermione, and she was free to dance with Severus again.

* * *

"Now I'm tired," she said after the second fast number. "I don't know where you get your energy from, Severus."

"You want me to get you a drink?" he asked, grinning. "I'm sure there's some punch that _hasn't_ been spiked by now."

"It's fine," she said, waving her hand.

"Do you want me to stay with you, then?"

"If you like; or you could dance with one of the other teachers."

"I might do that. I won't be long; I promise."

Hermione reassured him that she'd be fine, and she looked around. She really hadn't needed to pretend to be tired, as she was panting a bit. But it was important that they begin the 'festivities', starting with the walls of the Great Hall. She made eye contact with Neville, who was sitting down with Luna nearby. She nodded, and drew her wand out of her golden belt.

Madame Pince was on the other side of the ballroom, and watched as colours slowly appeared on the walls. She then added her own Glamours, making words like 'Peace', 'Love', 'Sunshine', and 'Green Power' appear in pastel colours. The apprentice and the librarian both pocketed their wands surreptitiously as people started to murmur. Nothing had been said about colouring the walls, and nobody was waving their wands.

Filch snorted. Mrs. Norris was wandering around the Great Hall, looking for any Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products that may have been hidden in there in advance by the students, while he maintained his vigil at the door, sniffing out any prohibited items.

Neville had quietly commissioned the Weasley twins to make something that would create hazy images to float around the hall; a toned-down version of the fireworks that they had made, and subsequently used, in their fifth year. They were strategically placed around the hall, and Mrs. Norris knew not to report those to her master.

Madame Pomfrey had been in the kitchens earlier, and had ordered the house elves to put 'a little something extra' in the punch. She told them that it was to counteract any alcohol that may be slipped into the bowls; whereas, in fact, it was a potion that acted almost like a Confundus charm. When anyone drank the punch, and unknowingly took the potion, they would think that what they were seeing were just hallucinations, no matter how many people might tell them to the contrary.

Now, Madame Pomfrey was helping Filch set off the Hallucination Bombs, as the Weasley twins called them. While Luna danced with Sirius, Neville began charming the plants on the tables to dance along with the music, emerging from their vases on their stem-legs, using their leaves as their hands, and performing all sorts of swanky moves.

It was a strange sight, that's for sure.

* * *

As it turned out, almost everybody had partaken of the punch that evening. Severus was one of the few people sensible enough not to try any. He and Hermione danced again, before she was finally taken over for the next number by Sirius. It was 'To Sir, With Love'.

Before they separated, Severus whispered to Hermione that he wanted to speak with her privately after the ball, and she nodded her consent, confused though she was. She followed Sirius onto the dance floor.

"Finally," he said, and he blew a hair out of his face before putting his arms around her waist. She had no choice but to put her hands on his shoulders. At least Severus was enough of a gentleman to hold one of her hands, instead of forcing her into this kind of position.

But then, it wasn't Severus she was in love with.

"Well, Severus is my date for the night, so naturally I'm going to dance with him a lot," she said defensively, both hating and loving being pressed up so close to her mentor.

"Yes, but I love you, and want to dance with you," Sirius murmured. Hermione's breath hitched, and she tightened her grip on his shoulders momentarily.

"I know," she whispered hoarsely.

"I think of you when I hear this song," he said, as they danced. "Have you seen the movie _To Sir, With Love_?"

"Yes, I have. It was wonderful."

"Hermione, I warn you," he said, and she frowned slightly, "I want to marry you, only I don't know what you'd want in the way of a proposal. Would you want me to get down on one knee in front of everyone here, and ask you then? Or would you prefer somewhere more intimate? Do you want something exciting, or something sober?"

"I… huh?"

"I want it to be perfect when I beg for your hand in marriage," Sirius said, and he shrugged in an off-handed way, as though they were simply talking about the weather.

"Well, I…" she said, trying to think. "I wouldn't want anything too public. Dancing in front of everyone is one thing; but marriage is something between two people, so I wouldn't want everyone to hear. But it's such a wonderful event, that it should be shared as well. I don't know, Sirius. But does it really matter?"

"Yes, it does," he said, lowering his mouth to her ear. "Since you're so undecided, I'll just whisper it now. Hermione Granger: will you marry me?"

**

* * *

**

Wow. Two proposals today. I'm doing well, aren't I?

**(The second proposal is in one of my other stories, "Worth 1000 Memories". I've left a cliff-hanger in that one, as well. A different method of proposal, and probably more effective.)**


	9. Accept or Decline?

"Accept or Decline?"

She swallowed, feeling his arms tighten around her, as she considered his words. Sirius Black had just proposed marriage to her, right in the middle of a dance, but quietly enough so that she wouldn't be embarrassed by all the attention that would have focussed on them otherwise. Only one person was watching them, and that was Severus Snape, who was amused by the elaborate prank that Hermione and the others seemed to have pulled. He hoped that this would cause the students to give up their amateurish, infantile efforts at practical jokes, and concentrate on their school work and _proper_ house unity.

Just as long as Slytherin won the House Cup.

"Hermione," he whispered in a sing-song voice.

She seemed to hear it all the same, and glanced over at him. He had asked to see her after the ball. But what was she supposed to say to Sirius?

Oh, Merlin; she wanted to marry him!

"Y-yes," she said, looking into Sirius' eyes. "But I have to go now."

"You said 'yes'," he said breathlessly, smiling slowly. She nodded.

"But I have to go," she said. "Severus wanted to talk to me. But I _will _marry you."

"Right," Sirius said, and his smile became a grin. "But don't let Snivellus—sorry, _Severus_—keep you from me for too long."

"He's my date to the ball!" Hermione said, frowning. "He's my friend, and you'll talk about him with respect, so help me."

"All right, love; all right," he said, letting go of her as the song ended. "However, if he asks you out—or, Merlin forbid, asks you to marry _him_—just say no. You're mine now."

"I know; you needn't be so possessive," she said, and she walked over to Severus, Sirius grinning at her back stupidly as he positively skipped over to the punch. Huh. Were those _flowers_ dancing on the tables? And what were all those ghostly images? He had experimented with LSD once, and wondered if it was supposed to be like this.

No. They had never discussed it in any of the meetings of the ball committee. He was _definitely_ seeing things.

He just hoped that he hadn't hallucinated Hermione's acceptance.

* * *

"What is it, Severus?" she asked when they reached his office.

"I have a question to put to you," he said, indicating that she should sit down. Once she was seated, he sat across from her. "But first… what on earth did you do tonight? To the walls, to the flowers, to the punch… it _was_ you, wasn't it?"

"I didn't act alone," Hermione said, and she smirked.

"Indeed. Let me guess. There were five of you, weren't there?"

"…Yes."

"And I was the one who inspired you?"

She sighed. "Yes. Thanks to that conversation we had after the first committee meeting."

"Well, I certainly approve," he said, leaning back in his chair, hands behind his head.

"So what did you want to ask me?"

"Not yet. Why did Black look so deliriously happy when you left him?"

"He asked me to marry him, and I accepted."

"Good."

She blinked once, then twice. "Good?"

"That's what I said, Hermione. Ever since you were kind to me in your sixth year—well, enquired about my health, which is more than anyone else ever does—I tried to push you and Black closer together, since it would make you happy, and you deserve some happiness. I like to think that we've become good friends… _very_ good friends. You're probably my best friend, truth be told."

"I see."

"So I wanted to ask you to do something important for me," he said, now looking down at his hands. "You may not want to do it… and yet you may."

"What is it, Severus?"

He sighed, stood, and walked closer to her. "I'm an only child, and have no one to leave my things to in my will. I had left everything to Dumbledore to do with as he pleased, but now I can't, because of the Ministry."

"What do you mean?"

Severus sighed again, and ran a hand through his hair. He leant back on his desk, and folded his arms. "The Ministry is bringing out a new law regarding wills. If you are unmarried, you must leave at least something for at least one blood relative. As I am single, and certainly intend to remain so, I need a blood relative. However, as both my parents are dead, and as I am an only child… you see how I'm stuck."

"But that's abominable!" Hermione cried, leaping to her feet. "They're all but forcing you to marry."

"And as I shall always love somebody who is long dead, you're my only option."

"Who did you love?" she asked softly.

"It doesn't matter," he replied, hanging his head and studying his shoes. "That's all in the past. It's just… I want you to become my blood sister. That will be good enough for the Ministry."

"All right," she said, still surprised. "But why me?"

"Being only a half-blood," he said, sneering, "I cannot… _encroach_ upon a pureblood family like that. Only through marriage. Neither magic, nor the Ministry, will allow a half-blood and pureblood to become blood relatives like that. So it's down to either a half-blood or a Muggleborn."

"I see. Then I most definitely accept."

He smiled widely. It wasn't as scary as it used to be since he got his teeth fixed. "Thank you, Hermione."

"When? And what do we need to do?"

"It has to be before your wedding," he said, standing up straight and helping her up from the chair. "All we need is a knife, the incantation, a witness, and a celebrant. Then we can be bonded."

* * *

Sirius had eventually come to find Hermione. Knowing that she and Severus were going to talk, he made his way—rather unsteadily—to the dungeons. He got a nasty shock when the Bloody Baron swept through one wall, barely missing him, straight through the other wall.

"Bloody hell, Bloody Baron," he said, and he chuckled to himself.

He reached the doorway, and listened.

"…witness, and a celebrant. Then we can be bonded."

"What?" he shouted, and he burst into the room. Hermione nearly fell over, and Severus grabbed her around the waist to stop her from falling. "What the hell is going on?"

"Sirius!" Hermione said, looking worried. "What's the matter?"

"You're marrying him?" he asked, pointing at Severus, who simply raised an eyebrow while he relinquished his grasp on Hermione's waist.

"No," she said, frowning. "What gave you that idea?"

"Witness, celebrant, _bonding_," Sirius said, stalking forward.

"He wants me to become his sister!" she told him, backing away until the backs of her knees hit the chair. She grabbed onto it to stop herself from falling.

"Sure you're not related to Nymphadora?" Severus muttered, and she glared at him.

"Quiet," she said, and Sirius looked between them, confused.

"Really?" he asked. "You're going to become his sister? He'll become your brother?"

"It's for legal reasons," Severus said, looking at his fingernails. "If I don't leave my money and belongings to my non-existent wife, or my non-existent relatives, then the Ministry gets it, which I most certainly do not want to happen. Bunch of incompetent, dunderheaded fools. There are some valuable books in my collection, and there's no way I'm letting idiots get their hands on them. Hermione will appreciate and take care of my books, as well as the rest of my belongings."

"I didn't realise," Sirius muttered. "I could have at least left my things to Tonks, as she's a close enough relative. You're referring to the new law, aren't you?"

"How did _you_ hear about it?"

"I've got connections in the Ministry, too, you know," Sirius said, feeling smug.

"I see."

"And I'm a Hogwarts teacher."

"That's true."

"You could be our witness!" Hermione exclaimed, and Sirius snorted.

"I'll think about it," he said. "Now come on. Let's go back to the dance!"

"Have you tried any of the punch?" Severus asked as they walked back to the Great Hall.

"Yeah; have you?" Sirius asked, starting to groove to the music they could hear playing.

"Not yet," Severus said, glancing down at a blushing Hermione. "Have you?"

"N-no," she said.

"Well, I'm getting some more," Sirius said as the song finished, and he sauntered over to the drinks table.

"Dance with me again, sister-to-be?" Severus asked, holding out his hand as 'Help!' began to play. Hermione smiled, and nodded.

"I'd love to, brother-to-be."

**

* * *

**

Aw, ain't it grand? Are you glad that she accepted? Is _**anyone**_** reading this story? I get more readers for my HG/SS stories. Well, the prequel to this story, "That One Little Word", will be rewritten (by me, naturally) with Severus in Sirius' place instead, in a sort of Alternate Universe to my Alternate Universe. Fun…**


	10. Ceremonies

"Ceremonies"

"…a permanent bond between families, blood from blood, blood _to_ blood…"

The headmaster's office was dimly lit, just like the dungeons. A gold knife glinted, reflecting the light of the candles, its handle gripped by two left hands: one belonged to Hermione, the other to Severus. Dumbledore conducted the ceremony, the bonding ritual, just as he would eventually bind Hermione and Sirius in marriage.

His wand wove intricate patterns of magic over and around their clutched hands. Sirius stood nearby, as did Hermione's parents. They had been reluctant to agree at first, particularly as she also told them that she was engaged at the same time.

"…bind magic and ancestry…"

Everyone had been surprised at the announcement. Hermione and Sirius had waited until the week after the ball, and told Dumbledore, who then announced the news during breakfast. While everyone was getting used to the idea, the happy couple visited the Grangers to tell them, and so that Sirius could meet his future parents-in-law. It took a lot of convincing, but the Grangers were brought over to Hermione's point-of-view.

It was more difficult to convince them when it came to making Severus a part of their family, too. Of course, in his case, it was by blood. But when Hermione explained his past, and his current situation, they sympathised enough to agree. Attending the ritual was their way of showing their support, and Severus was grateful for it. They were among the more sensible Muggles he had ever met, and was pleased to be able to call them family… soon.

"Slit your palms together, and grasp each other's left hand," Dumbledore instructed, and they took the knife in their right hands. Each placed a left palm to a side of the blade, fingers touching. With a fast movement, they pressed them to each other, and pulled the knife down. They both flinched at the sharp pain, but quickly clasped their hands together, dropping the dagger to the ground. The magic coursed through them, and Sirius swiftly placed a piece of parchment underneath their hands. Drops of their mixed blood fell to the parchment below.

"The family tree expands; Muggleborn and Half-blood become one. The power of strong magic fuses familial alliance; two families of different blood purities."

"Look at the blood," Mrs. Granger whispered, pointing at the parchment. Neither Hermione nor Severus were paying attention to anything other than the magic that was burning through their hands and their blood stream. So they didn't see the blood acting as ink, drawing a family tree that brought together the families Granger and Snape.

"Brother," Hermione said, her eyes still on Severus.

"Sister," he replied, also maintaining eye contact.

"Forever in magic."

"Forever in blood."

Light flared around them, and everyone had to look away. The light abated; and when they looked back, Hermione and Severus still hadn't moved, though the blood had dried between their palms, and dried on the parchment. They slowly drew their hands away; and then they were out of it. Hermione smiled widely, and then leapt forward, sweeping the family tree out of the way as she embraced her newfound brother. The Grangers and Sirius applauded, and Dumbledore retrieved the parchment.

"See your family," he said to Severus, who looked down at the parchment. Everyone on his side of the tree was dead, except for himself. But on Hermione's side, he saw that he had grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

"Some of them know about magic," Hermione admitted, and he smiled at his sister. "You can meet them."

"I'd like that," he said, and he glanced up at the Grangers. They beamed back at him, and he looked at Dumbledore, whose eyes held their usual twinkle. Finally, he turned to Sirius, who was smirking.

"Come here, brother," the Marauder said, and he suddenly threw his arms around his soon-to-be brother-in-law. Severus rolled his eyes, frowning, but gave Sirius a pat on the back.

"All right," he muttered. "Now let me go, Black."

"Ah, ah, ah! It's Sirius now," he said, and Severus sighed.

"Fine then. Now let me go, _Sirius_."

With a laugh, Sirius gave him one more squeeze, and then embraced Hermione. He leaned in to give her a kiss, but she scolded him.

"Not in front of my family and Professor Dumbledore," she said, and Severus felt a warm glow. He had a family; a proper family, a loving family. They had accepted him, along with all his tattered past, and he was grateful to them.

The icing on the cake was that the Ministry couldn't get their hands on his money. Ha!

* * *

After the ball, Neville had revealed to the students and teachers that what had happened, with the mirages, the flowers, and the words and pictures on the wall… that they were all part of an elaborate practical joke that had been played by the five people in Hogwarts who had been exempt from the restriction. Dumbledore had been impressed, and led the applause while those five who had been involved all took their bows.

Sirius was so proud of his fiancé, and gave her a passionate kiss in front of everyone when she had sat back down. Fortunately, everyone was so busy cheering that very few noticed this; and those that did thought it was just his way of acknowledging the excellent prank, particularly as Hermione blushed and pushed him back, scolding him.

The first few days after that, the students tried to pull some of their own pranks that had been arranged in advance; but after the subtle and yet effective trick that had been pulled by the Pranking Five, they just gave up, admitting defeat. Severus and Hermione, during one of their usual private discussions, drank a toast to that.

* * *

In the end, the wedding dress was made of the finest white satin available. The skirt was plain, falling naturally, but with enough material for Hermione to have it fan out when she twirled around. The fitted bodice had a not-too-low-cut neck, and was embroidered with flowers that stood out around the neck and tapered away, smaller and smaller, towards the top of the skirt. The veil was a simple piece of delicate netting falling down from a plain, white satin headband.

Finally, a white velvet cloak, with silver embroidery around the edge, completed the ensemble.

Remus was Sirius' best man, Hermione's father gave her away, and Ginny was the maid-of-honour. Luna and—funnily enough—Pansy Parkinson were bridesmaids. Even though Hermione said that including Pansy was just to encourage house unity, they all knew that it was in homage to the events those few years ago, the events that led to Voldemort's downfall, and everyone's newfound happiness.

The wedding cake was chocolate—much to Remus' delight—with the usual white icing, Hermione's favourite part, and flowers iced on to match the embroidery on Hermione's wedding dress. After the (thankfully short) speeches, there was dancing. The first dance was shared by the new husband and wife, of course. Then Hermione danced with her father while Sirius danced with her mother. Severus danced with his new sister next, before surrendering her to Neville, followed by Harry, and then Ron.

While the dancing continued on into the night, Hermione and Sirius left for their honeymoon as soon as they could. They were going to travel around Italy for two weeks, starting with Venezia (Venice), and ending in Napoli (Naples).

* * *

A year later, on their first anniversary, there was a party to end all parties at Hogwarts, where everything had started… well, close enough to where they had first met. They would have held the party at the Shrieking Shack, where Dumbledore still lived, only there wasn't enough room for all the people who wanted to come.

"Severus," Hermione said, accosting her brother during the party. "Sirius and I were wondering something."

"Yes, Hermione?" he asked. He was smiling as usual, a sparkle in his eyes to rival Dumbledore's twinkle.

"We wanted you to be godfather," she said, placing a hand on her stomach. Severus' grin widened. He threw his arms around her.

"That's a 'yes', I gather?" Sirius asked, and they turned to see him.

"Indeed," Severus said, and they all laughed as Sirius proudly spread the news about his impending fatherhood, while Remus started the cheers, clutching Tonks to his side as she nursed their second child.

It was a very happy ending—and a very happy beginning.

**

* * *

**

Well, I hope you've all enjoyed the two-part journey. I had no idea when I started writing my first story for this website, "That One Little Word", that it would end up having its own sequel.

**The reason that I used the Italian names for the cities is because I used to learn Italian, and felt like using their **_**proper**_** names, instead of the less attractive English alternatives.**


End file.
